Damon Salvatore: Lord of the Manor
After Elena Gilbert gets engaged to his brother Stefan, Damon Salvatore leaves Mystic Falls and retreats to a dark world of his own creation. Up on the promontories that hover above a forlorn sea, a Gothic castle sits shrouded in fog and mystery. It is Ravens Pier Hall, an ancestral manor built by the tortured memories and twisted imagination of a vampire scorned, Damon Salvatore.
Now it is up to Elena Gilbert to sail away on a seafaring journey to the treacherous shores and cliffs of Ravens Pier Hall. If her love for Damon is strong enough to overcome the phantoms that haunt the castle, maybe, just maybe, she can rescue him from his own demons. Is Damon's heart wounded beyond repair, or can love save him from his self-imposed exile?
CHAPTER 1: The Mirror of Theia
Damon Salvatore drives his turbocharged convertible across Wickery Bridge, angry thrash metal blasting on the stereo. He floors the accelerator pedal till his head snaps back against the headrest and, in the dark of night, he heads up towards the woods, paying no mind to the speed limit.
As he barrels full-throttle up the highway, he hits an unexpected curve, so he sharply steers the wheel and swerves sideways just in time to avoid running the car off the road. Once he rights the convertible back into the lane, he lets out a maniacal laugh and screams in excitement while he checks his rearview mirror.
"How we doing back there, princess?" he asks. "Having fun yet?"
Katherine Pierce bounces around unbuckled in the backseat, hands tied up behind her back, and duct tape over her mouth. The impact of the sudden turn has obviously hit her full blast, and, with the car jerking so violently, her head slams hard against the window.
Damon's lips quirk with a devilish smile as he notices that his unwilling companion is livid. Their eyes meet on the rearview mirror, and Katherine groans through flared nostrils, writhing desperately in an attempt to free up her hands.
"Excuse me? What did you say?" Damon asks in his signature mocking tone. "Are we there yet? Is that what you're asking, 'cause I can't quite hear you. Use your words please."
Katherine complains with a muffled growl, eyes frantically searching through the windows. It appears as though she's trying to find a nearby car to ask for help, but, at this late hour, the road is deserted.
Damon explodes into a fit of laughter. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I almost forgot! I had to find a way to shut you up! How do you like the duct tape, your highness? Pretty clever, huh?"
Her body quivering with rage, Katherine kicks the back of the driver's seat repeatedly, but her ankles are bound with a cable so she can't kick very hard.
Damon gets pissed off when he feels Katherine kicking him, so he speeds up even more than before. Then, without warning, he suddenly veers off the road and sends the convertible slicing through the darkness of an unpaved trail.
Katherine screams in horror as the car tears up the winding, rocky path, breaking tree branches, and bumping up and down, its bottom sounding like a blender grinding ice cubes.
Damon catches a quick glimpse of Katherine through the rearview mirror and can't help but feel a subtle tinge of guilt lurking in the pit of his stomach. Still, he grins impishly as he watches her bend her knees into her stomach and curl up into a ball, lying down sideways on the backseat and closing her eyes.
Her vulnerable state sends Damon back on a trip down memory lane, to the days when she was a vampire. "Doesn't it bother you at least a little bit?" he asks her as he drives the convertible deep into the Mystic Falls forest. "To think about how you all but wasted your immortality?"
Katherine presses her forehead into her knees, hiding her face away from him.
Meanwhile, Damon chuckles, reminiscing. "I can still see you, strutting around in your stilettos, so empowered by your no-holds-barred attitude and thinking you were on top of the world. Please tell me you see the humor in that."
Katherine lifts up her eyes, and her glare burns through the rearview mirror.
Unfazed, Damon goes on with his tirade. "How does it feel to be just an ordinary human now, huh? Is it fun to contemplate your own mortality after you murdered so many people in cold blood? You must be scared to death. Always on edge, constantly wondering about when the time comes, how will it be? How will you die?"
Katherine lowers her gaze, swallowing hard, and a shudder rattles her fragile frame.
"Oh, c'mon now, Katherine!" Damon adds. "Don't look so dejected. You have to admit this is poetic justice. Considering what you did to me, I'm actually being way too kind to you right now. Wouldn't you agree?"
By then, the trees have closed in around them, and Damon realizes there's no room for his car to advance any further into the woods. He steps on the brakes and forces the convertible into an abrupt halt.
The momentum hurls Katherine forward against the front seats, and she winds up with half her body awkwardly suspended from the edge of the backseat.
Whipping his head around, Damon flicks her a sideways glance and winks at her, a sinister glint in his eyes. He then gets out of the car and leisurely takes his time to stretch out his arms. Breathing in the pine-scented mountain air, he gazes up at the vastness of the starry night.
"Wow, Katherine! You should come out here and enjoy the view." He keeps an eye on the car, pretending not to be watching her. "The stars look absolutely breathtaking. Such a shame you're missing it. You know, as my father always said, live everyday like it'll be your last." He doubles up, roaring with laughter.
Without making a sound, Katherine somehow manages to throw her legs forward in between the front seats. She then tries to squeeze the rest of her body into the passenger seat, but as she's right in the middle of it, Damon opens the door and yanks her out by the arm.
"Nice try, principessa," he jeers as she trips and falls on the ground. "You know, I'm not sure what's funnier, the fact that you actually think you can escape, or the look on your face when I do this." He pulls the duct tape off her mouth.
Katherine cries out in agony. "Ahhhh! Stop, Damon, please!"
"How does it feel, huh?" he screams in rage. "To have nothing else left to lose?"
"Damon, listen to me," she pleads. "I didn't mean for Elena to break up with you, I swear. She forced me to tell her the truth."
Damon clenches his jaw and comes very close to slapping Katherine straight across the face, but, just as he lifts his hand to do it, he changes his mind and holds back. "Yeah. The truth according to Katherine."
"She was going to torture me unless I told her what I'd heard. You can't hold that against me." Katherine tries to get up from the ground only to fall again. "And besides, it's not like I owe you anything. Why should I risk getting tortured for you?"
Damon takes a deep breath, struggling to control himself. "You seem to forget I've been protecting you from Silas all this time. Technically, you could say you owe me what remains of your weak, miserable life."
"You only did it because you thought there was something in it for you," she counters. "And because you were pretending to be the perfect boyfriend for Elena. But don't underestimate me, Damon. Vampire or not, I am still your maker and I've always seen right through you. The moment you found out Stefan was falling for her again, you reverted back to your old, murderous self."
"I wasn't pretending to be the perfect boyfriend," Damon retorts, his lower lip trembling. "I really do love Elena. She's the only woman I've ever loved, in case you were wondering. You just couldn't stand the fact that I'd become a better person because of her."
"If that were true, you wouldn't have hired a vampire assassin to kill your own brother." Katherine attempts to get up but she can't keep her balance.
"I was considering it, but I never went through with it. You know better than anybody I'd never hurt Stefan."
"Say what you want, but I was there. I heard the entire conversation, Damon. You wanted him to pull Stefan's heart out of his chest and feed it to the dogs."
Damon advances menacingly towards her and picks her up off the ground. "I was talking out of anger, but I changed my mind that same night."
"Still. If I hadn't told Elena the truth, you would've gotten there too late. Elena saved Stefan's life. He'd be dead and buried by now if it were for you."
Damon bends over and takes out a switchblade he'd been hiding in his shoe.
"Damon, get that thing away from me," Katherine shrieks.
"Relax," Damon says as he cuts off the cable around her ankles. "It's not me you should be worried about." And, without saying another word, he puts the roll of duct tape in his jacket pocket, grabs Katherine by the arm and drags her along with him into the woods.
Katherine protests to no avail. "Where are you taking me?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Now shut it unless you want me to slap more duck tape on your mouth and ruin your pretty face."
At the end of a long trek through the woods, they come upon the ruins of Fell's Church. Katherine's face goes deathly pale the instant she lays eyes on the crypt. She tries to run, but Damon's grip on her arm is way too strong. The panicked expression in her face makes him laugh with abandon.
"Don't worry," he tells her. "You won't be trapped here for hundreds of years the way you made me believe you were."
Katherine's eyes go wild with fright. "Then why did you bring me here?"
"There's someone I'd like you to meet," Damon mutters, raising an eyebrow mischievously.
Just then, a woman steps out of the crypt. It is Qetsiyah. She is dressed in a long, black hooded cloak. Her face appears sinister with the play of lights and shadows reflected on it.
"Well, hello there, Damon," Qetsiyah greets him. "I see you kept your end of the bargain." She advances toward them.
Katherine hides behind Damon. "Who is she, Damon?" she asks, her voice shaking. "What is she talking about?"
"Katherine, this is Qetsiyah," Damon replies. "Qetsiyah, meet Katerina Petrova."
A scream catches in Katherine's throat. "No, Damon, please. Don't do this."
"Pleasure to finally meet you, Katerina," Qetsiyah says with a smile.
Katherine digs her nails into Damon's leather jacket as if trying to use him as a shield. "I know who you are," she tells Qetsiyah. "You're supposed to be dead. Stay away from me, you freak!"
Qetsiyah chuckles. "Relax, darling. I'm an ancient witch. I don't bite." With a disdainful smirk, she examines Katherine from head to toe. "So . . ." she continues, "Damon tells me Silas is after you."
"Damon, why did you tell her?" Katherine asks, terrified.
Ignoring Katherine, Damon addresses Qetsiyah in a demanding tone. "Let's not make this any more difficult than it has to be, shall we? Just do the spell, and she's all yours like we agreed."
"No!" Katherine cries out as she tries to take off running, but Damon stops her.
Qetsiyah moves closer to Katherine and speaks to her in a fake motherly voice. "Calm down, Petrova. You're safer with me than you are with Silas, I can assure you. At least I don't intend to drain you of your blood in order to get my hands on the cure."
Katherine clings to Damon, her eyes wide open in disbelief. "You can't use me as a bargaining chip, Damon. That's too low even for you."
"Shut up, Katherine," Damon orders her dryly. "Qetsiyah, let's get this over with or I'm walking."
Qetsiyah sneers at Damon. "Well, at least have the decency to explain to the poor girl what you intend to do with her. Surely, she deserves that much, right?"
"She brought this on herself," Damon declares. "Now, show me the mirror so I can make sure it even exists."
Katherine makes another attempt to break free from Damon's grasp but fails again. "You're trading me for a mirror?"
Qetsiyah laughs. "It's not just any mirror, sweetheart," she explains as she leads them into the crypt. "It's a magical artifact from ancient Greece."
As they enter the crypt, both Damon and Katherine are left staring dumbfounded. Qetsiyah has lit several candles and arranged them into a ceremonial magic circle. At the center of the circle is a black mirror gilded with an opalescent frame. Off in a dark corner of the crypt is a chair with some ropes.
Qetsiyah motions for Damon to tie Katherine to the chair. "Over there," she indicates in a dismissive tone, referring to Katherine as if she were an object.
"How do I know this is the real deal, witch?" Damon asks, still not fully convinced. "That looks like an ordinary mirror to me."
Qetsiyah walks into the circle and slowly runs her fingers along the frame of the mirror. As her fingertips make contact with the frame, tiny sparks of shimmering white light radiate from the surface of the mirror.
As Damon and Katherine freeze in place, completely mesmerized by the radiance, Qetsiyah speaks with great reverence and formality. "Behold: The Mirror of Theia. Theia is the Greek goddess of the shining light and the clear blue sky. There is only one mirror in existence and it's impossible to replicate."
"She's lying, Damon," Katherine interrupts. "The Mirror of Theia doesn't exist. It's just a myth."
Damon examines the mirror, then looks at the chair with the ropes. "You'll have to prove to me that this is not just another one of your witchy tricks," he tells Qetsiyah.
"The only way for you to find out for sure is if we do the spell," Qetsiyah replies with confidence. "The archetypal world is the only place in the universe where perfect happiness exists, Damon. It's the paradise lost we were all banned from entering. All earthly creatures, human or supernatural, can only access this world through their dreams. The Mirror of Theia will open a gateway to the archetypal world for you. You'll never be afraid of the Sun again. You'll experience the eternal life that immortality can never give you."
"Damon," Katherine interrupts, "she's lying to you, don't be so stupid!"
Damon clenches his jaw in frustration. "Be quiet, Katherine!"
"The Mirror of Theia is the way to true freedom, Damon," continues Qetsiyah. "All you have to do to seal the deal is tie the Petrova to that chair. Once I do the spell, the gateway to the archetypal world will open, and you'll be able to leave Mystic Falls behind forever. Elena will never be able to hurt you again."
Katherine squirms, trying to get Damon to let her go, but he only tightens his grip on her wrist.
"Damon, I can get Elena to forgive you. I swear!" she tells him.
"Elena is engaged to Stefan, Damon," Qetsiyah remarks. "You said so yourself. What more proof do you want that they are destined to be together? You'll always play second fiddle to your brother for as long as you allow yourself to love Elena. It's time to move on."
Qetsiyah's words cut Damon deep, and a raging fire surges up inside of him. He grabs Katherine by the arm and drags her toward the chair.
Katherine screams. "She's telling you what you want to hear, Damon, please. You can still fight for Elena. Please don't give up. You can win her back. I'll help you."
"Paradise is waiting for you on the other side of that mirror, Damon," Qetsiyah insists. "Turn over the Petrova and claim the happiness you deserve once and for all."
As Damon ties the rope tightly around her arms and torso, Katherine pleads with him: "She probably bought that mirror at some flea market, Damon. It's a trap. Don't fall for it."
"Enough!" Damon snarls with determination. "You and your doppelgänger have caused me nothing but grief." As soon as he says this, he takes the roll of duct tape out of his pocket, pulls off a strip and covers Katherine's mouth with it.
End of Chapter 1 – To be continued . . .
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